Previous research has shown a link between sequentiallearning (SL) and language as well as links between executivefunction (EF) and both language and SL. However, littleresearch has focused on both the development of therelationship between these factors and their neurologicalunderpinnings. Here we report a study of the event-relatedpotential (ERP) correlates of SL and behavioral measures oflanguage and EF in a sample of 7-12-year-old children.Results revealed that both SL and EF had independentassociations with language development but that thecontribution that both made toward language developmentshifted dramatically between the ages of 7 to 11-12 years. Theresults furthermore suggest that this developmental shift maybe due in part to the maturation of EF abilities and changesdue to neural entrenchment and commitment as aconsequence of language acquisition.

Statistical learning (SL) is believed to be a mechanism that enables successful language acquisition. Language acquisition in turn is heavily influenced by environmental factors such as socioeconomic status (SES). However, it is unknown to what extent SL abilities interact with SES in affecting language outcomes. To examine this potential interaction, we measured event-related potentials (ERPs) in 38 children aged 7-12 while performing a visual SL task consisting of a sequence of stimuli that contained covert statistical probabilities that predicted a target stimulus. Hierarchical regression results indicated that SL ability moderated the relationship between SES (average of both caregiver’s education level) and language scores (grammar, and marginally with receptive vocabulary). For children with high SL ability, SES had a weaker effect on language compared to children with low SL ability, suggesting that having good SL abilities could help ameliorate the disadvantages associated with being raised in a family with lower SES.

Statistical or sequential learning (SL) involves comprehending environmental patterns in which some items precede other items with a given likelihood. SL is thought to occur without attention or consciousness (or explicit knowledge) of the learned patterns and thus is sometimes considered to be implicit learning. However, this assumption is still debatable (Daltrozzo & Conway, 2014). We examined the role of selective attention and pattern consciousness (PC) in SL using event-related potentials (ERP) with healthy adults. Thirty-four participants (27 females, 18-49 years) performed a Flanker task to assess their level of selective attention, followed by a visual SL task while ERPs were recorded. Participants’ level of PC was assessed via a questionnaire. In the SL task, participants viewed a sequence of different stimuli on the screen and were instructed to press a button as fast as possible, when they saw a target stimulus. They were unaware that: 1.) two predictor items were embedded in the sequence and 2.) the items predicted target occurrence with high or low probability. ERPs were timelocked to predictor onsets. The mean ERP between 200 and 700ms post-predictor onset revealed an interaction between target occurrence probability, PC, attention, and two scalp topographic factors. Post-hoc tests indicated that higher attention was related to a more rostral left lateralized effect under high PC and a left lateralization of SL ERP effects under low PC. These neural findings suggest that both attention and PC modulate SL.

Sequential learning (SL) refers to the ability to learn thetemporal and ordinal patterns of one’s environment. Whereasresearch on the learning of ordinal patterns is common, thelearning of temporal patterns within sequential events hasbeen far less studied. The current study examines the effectsof synchronous and asynchronous temporal patterns on visualsequential learning. We hypothesize that entrainment (i.e.exposure to a regular rhythmic pattern) allows for betterprocessing of the ordinal structure of sequential events.Twenty healthy adult participants (11 females, 18–34 yearsold) performed two versions of a visual sequential learningparadigm while event-related potentials (ERPs) wererecorded. The SL task involved the visual presentation ofcolored circles, wherein a target circle was embedded thatwas partially predictable based on preceding predictorstimuli. One version of the task incorporated synchronoustemporal presentation of the stimuli whereas the other versioninvolved asynchronous presentation of stimuli using arandomized ISI on every trial. Reaction time datademonstrated that learning occurred in both temporalconditions. On the other hand, the mean ERP amplitudesbetween 350 and 750ms post-predictor onset in the posteriorregions of interest revealed that learning of the statisticalcontingencies between stimuli was disrupted for theasynchronous temporal condition but intact for thesynchronous condition. These neurophysiological datasuggest that the brain processes regular and irregular timingevents differently, with statistical learning of ordinal visualpatterns being improved by a synchronous temporal structure,possibly a result of heightened attention to the stimuli due toentrainment.